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New to investing? What brokerage platform should you use?
- gavinchiuyy
- Nov 28, 2022
- 3 min read
To start off, I wanted to clarify that I am not associated with any brokerage platforms, nor am I paid to write such content. I am purely sharing my experiences with regards to aspects of UX/UI interface, mobile friendliness, accessibility, support and ease of application.
I started off my investing/ trading journey back in 2020. Back then, online trading platforms were hotcakes due to the pandemic lockdowns. Many people had their incomes temporarily halted/ reduced, and the next way to gain back what is lost was through investing and trading. What was different for me was that I felt bored due to the pandemic lockdowns, and was introduced to investing by my brother, Gerald, on buying index ETFs for some long-term capital appreciation. He was using Etoro at that time, and Etoro had some great offerings: $100 reward to the referee (on certain terms & conditions) as well as zero commission charges on every purchase. I believe it certainly led to the rise in its popularity amongst young and first-time investors like myself.
Undoubtedly, Etoro has been one of a kind with their initiatives and introduction of “Copy Portfolio” which allows newbie investors with zero knowledge about the markets to copy and replicate the portfolio of popular investors on the platform.
My most recent discovery of their new (or rather had already been there for some time but I didn’t realise it as I seldom open them now) was the “Smart Portfolio”. The concept of a smart portfolio is like investing in ETFs, just that Smart Portfolio provides more thematic options like “CryptoPortfolio”, “Renewable Energy”, “Diabetes-Med” etc. The launch of the “Smart Portfolio” definitely makes Etoro more fun to use and is able to attract more users who are interested in investing into thematic portfolios.
I also had Interactive Brokers account under my usage, but they are mainly for my options-trading activities, so I felt I am not in a very good position to brief you all about the platform itself. But something worth crediting about Interactive Brokers is their “PortfolioAnalyst” section, which helps investors to know better about their stocks concentration, dividend reaped since inception, performance relative to individual stocks/ indexes and so many more. They are invaluable to investors!
Finally, my most recently signed-up brokerage is MooMoo! I was attracted by their free share (the spin wheel offers: Apple, Coca-Cola, Pfizer, Zoom, Intel). To be eligible for the redemption, new users must deposit at least SGD 2,700, and to be able to sell the share, new users MUST maintain daily assets of SGD 2,700 for 30 days from the day of share allocation. Also, MooMoo differentiates themselves in such a way that they offer “MooMoo CashPlus”, which promises a 5.00% return per annum. To me personally, I treat this like putting money in as a Fixed Deposit. Since there are still not many enticing opportunities (at least to me) in the market, this is a good deal! BUT, what made me choose MooMoo is the availability to invest in Singapore markets. The Singapore market has relatively slower growth but what is ideal about their market is the stability. With that said, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS) and Singapore Banks are my targeted stocks to invest in when the entry price is at the right spot!
So far, I have been enjoying Etoro’s zero commission trades, which allows me to do swing trading without worrying about the fees, but the spreads on Etoro is something worth considering. I have yet to explore further on MooMoo, but their customer service is something worth mentioning. I am dissatisfied with Etoro’s customer service, which at times takes very long to be attended to (I was assigned with a personalised account manager but still…). In contrast, MooMoo also assigned me with an account manager which is not only easily reachable but also quite responsive. Interactive Brokers came last for this segment of comparison.
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